Tributes are pouring in from around the world for former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. 

The 74-year-old died at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona Friday night after being hospitalized with respiratory problems earlier in the week.

Fans in Victoria are mourning the loss and remembering the legacy left behind by the man who could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

Ali’s 1972 fight at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum opened the door to an opportunity a Saanich man will never forget.

Brian Zelley met the world renowned boxer while Ali was in the city, staying at Vancouver’s Hotel Georgia.

Zelley knocked on the door to Ali’s penthouse suite where he was welcomed in for a chat.

“For him to sacrifice a half an hour talking to a bunch of strange kids from Nanaimo, that was great,” Zelley said.

Meeting the athlete is something Zelley will treasure forever.

“If you like a sport and you see one of the best in the world and you get invited into his room, I mean that’s pretty fantastic. I mean you can’t buy that sort of thing,” Zelley added.

The island man said when he found out about Ali’s death he was more sad than shocked.

“What a showman he was, I mean he’s so complex. He was great in boxing. He was a great comedian, a poet, just a good all around person,” Zelley noted. “It was an honour to meet him and a pleasure to watch him perform and act and just be Muhammad Ali.”

Around the world, fans, friends and family are paying tribute to the Olympic and three-time world heavyweight champion.

Former Canadian boxing champion Jason Heit said Ali was already a household name by the time he was growing up.

While he celebrates the great boxer’s athletic prowess, Heit says Ali’s strengths outside the ring shine too.

“He’s been an inspiration for me in the sense of I will stand up for the beliefs I have and face the consequences of decisions that may be unpopular,” Heit told CTV News.

While Heit knew he wanted to be a professional fighter at the age of four, it was Ali who had a major impact on his life.

“Muhammad Ali was the icon, everybody knew him. He was the king,” Heit told CTV. “He’s a big loss to the world and to the sport.”

Heit will remember him as one of the toughest champions to hit the boxing scene.

“His legacy that he’s left behind, I don’t think there will ever be anybody else that will come close to accomplishing what he did,” he said.

Ali was in Victoria in 2012 for music producer David Foster’s 25th anniversary charity fundraiser. CTV’s Jordan Cunningham spoke with former boxer and Vancouver Island native Robin Webb who sparred with Ali in the 70’s. You can watch that interview here.

A private funeral service for Ali will be held in Louisville, Kentucky.

A memorial is set for Friday – a chance to say goodbye to a champion known as “the greatest.”